Artistic Activism for Racial Equality from 1940 to 1980 by Evonna S. Stewart Lyrics
Previously, Renaissance scholars created a divisive purpose for literature, yet it seems these opinions united for the cause of inciting revolution among literary audiences. Literature produced between 1940 and 1980 served as an expressive platform for African Americans’ advocacy of political and social inequalities. In addition to the repurposing of literature, came the diverse emergence of perspectives on Black issues from the writings of African—American women writers. In particular, Lorraine Hansberry incited this revolutionary shift stating, “…All art is ultimately social; that which agitates and that which prepares the mind for slumber. The writer is deceived who thinks that he has some other choice. The question is not whether one will make a social statement in one’s work—but only what the statement will say, for if it says anything at all, it will be social.” Thus, the literature produced during the Civil Rights, Black Arts and Black Power Movements an artistic medium and distinctive characterization.
1945—Black Boy, Richard Wright
"My life as a Negro in America had led me to feel . . . that the problem of human unity was more important than bread, more important than physical living itself; for I felt that without a common bond uniting men . . . there could be no living worthy of being called human."
1947—“Frederick Douglass,” Robert Hayden
“…this man shall be remembered…not with statues’ rhetoric/not with legends and poems and wreaths of bronze alone/but with the lives grown out of his life, the lives/fleshing his dream of the beautiful, needful thing.”
1952—“The Battle Royal,” Ralph Ellison
“About eighty-five years ago they were told that they were free, united with others of our country in…the common good…in everything social, separate like the fingers of the hand.”
1959—A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
"Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life—now it’s money. I guess the world really do change . . ."
1965—The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm X
”I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.
1970— I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
“The Black female is assaulted…by all those common forces of nature…. masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power.... the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence.”
1972—“The Lesson” from Confirmation: An Anthology of African American Women, Toni Cade Bambara
we all poor and live in the slums….it don't necessarily have to be that way…poor people have to wake up and demand their share of the pie…”
1980—"A Poem about My Rights," June Jordan
“I can’t go out without changing my clothes my shoes/
my body posture my gender identity my age/my status as a woman…I am the wrong sex the wrong age the wrong skin”
1945—Black Boy, Richard Wright
"My life as a Negro in America had led me to feel . . . that the problem of human unity was more important than bread, more important than physical living itself; for I felt that without a common bond uniting men . . . there could be no living worthy of being called human."
1947—“Frederick Douglass,” Robert Hayden
“…this man shall be remembered…not with statues’ rhetoric/not with legends and poems and wreaths of bronze alone/but with the lives grown out of his life, the lives/fleshing his dream of the beautiful, needful thing.”
1952—“The Battle Royal,” Ralph Ellison
“About eighty-five years ago they were told that they were free, united with others of our country in…the common good…in everything social, separate like the fingers of the hand.”
1959—A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
"Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life—now it’s money. I guess the world really do change . . ."
1965—The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm X
”I’m for truth, no matter who tells it. I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.
1970— I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
“The Black female is assaulted…by all those common forces of nature…. masculine prejudice, white illogical hate and Black lack of power.... the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence.”
1972—“The Lesson” from Confirmation: An Anthology of African American Women, Toni Cade Bambara
we all poor and live in the slums….it don't necessarily have to be that way…poor people have to wake up and demand their share of the pie…”
1980—"A Poem about My Rights," June Jordan
“I can’t go out without changing my clothes my shoes/
my body posture my gender identity my age/my status as a woman…I am the wrong sex the wrong age the wrong skin”